nothing to do with trucking

[del949]

nothing at al to do with the subject of this forum really, so if the mods want to remove I understand. I am posting this on all the forums I am a member of. Many will have seen the news about prostrate cancer in the last couple of days. I noticed that my peeing was a bit unusual a couple of months ago and put it down to simply my age (68). Whist in Goa in December (8 weeks ago) I started having aches in my hips and thighs. Visited my doctor in January and he diagnosed muscle pain but sent me for blood tests anyway. Two days later I got a phone call to see him straight away. Referred to specialist etc who then diagnosed terminal prostrate cancer stage 4 .Until December I was fine and felt completely normal, no signs at all except for the peeing bit. So, the point of this post is mainly aimed at the men on here. GET IT CHECKED. Yes, we all know the thought of an internal exam is a bit daunting and embarrassing but the alternative is far worse. if you need to visit your GP simply ask for him to arrange a simple blood test which should (but not always) show if you have an elevated PSA level which is a good indicator of if you may develop the disease. he may also want to do the digital exam , which to be honest was not as bad as I was expecting, If caught early enough there are several treatments which will cure, control or delay the progress. If you are the wife. girlfriend etc encourage your man to get it checked. Sooner rather than later.

[Adonis.]

That's a crap hand to be dealt.

What size of boots are you?

A.

[commonrail]

Wise words del.
One of my old work mates has just been diagnosed with this.
He just got a bad back.
Spread into his spinal column...nothing can be done now.

[del949]

Sorry Adonis, sold all my boots when I retired. Appreciate the humour though, not much about at present.

[Bluey Circles]

my heart goes out to you and I wish you well, it must be pretty devastating news.

Out of curiosity what was the change in your peeing habits that you thought were unusual ?

[Sand Fisher]

my heart goes out to you and I wish you well, it must be pretty devastating news.

Out of curiosity what was the change in your peeing habits that you thought were unusual ?

Gentlemen,

I thought you might be interested to hear from someone who has been through this.

At the moment there is no widespread universal test for it. End of. Not in the UK anyway. What you should do is this. If there is any family history of breast yes I did say breast cancer or Prostate Cancer get a PSA test. Demand it. There is a strong correlation between breast and prostate cancer, my urologist told me that two years ago.

My grandfather on my father's side died of Prostate Cancer in 1973 he was 72 and his youngest son my Uncle died of it a few years ago he was 69. It was Brian who told me to get a PSA test which I think I did in my mid 40's. His mother's family had a history of cancer so putting two and two together his risk factors were quite high. My initial test was fine. A couple of years later I asked for a re-test they refused! I wasn't happy but went with it. I think another couple of years went past and I went to the surgery for something and a different doctor said that I should have PSA test. Well it came back at 12! Oh God, bricking myself. So what you do then is get referred to a urologist.

I then had a MRI scan of the area and biopsies done and thankfully no sign of cancer phew. But that is is just the start. What you then do is go onto surveillance. Get your PSA done every 3 months. It then becomes a statistical exercise because it is the rate of change in your PSA level that the urologist is looking for.

I then went back a year later and had further MRI scans and more detailed biopsies again no indication of cancer. Keep a record of the date of your PSA's and the number that comes back and you can be you're own doctor. I keep mine on a spreadsheet.

After a while I went back and said well why is it so relatively high? He advised it may be an enlarged Prostate and prescribed a reducing drug. It can have an effect on sex drive but unless you're Rod Stewart or Mick Jagger, at 60 I am not that bothered. FWIW it hasn't really affected me.

Finally nearly all men will get Prostate cancer. It tends to be an old man's disease. But it is a slow cancer and only becomes dangerous if it goes outside of the prostate. Brian thought he was in remission. And he was for three years or so. He came back off holiday I think in the January. He had some gut problems. Investigations showed it had just exploded and gone to other organs. He died mid July.

So guys. It ain't a killer if caught early. The range of treatments vary. If you have to have the prostate removed it can lead to incontinence, so if you are unlucky to have it diagnosed go through the options very carefully. The society for it is very helpful and they do have a website, a helpline and forum.

[del949]

Bluey Circles, having to go more often, weak stream , going through the night, sometimes standing at the urinal waiting for it to start. In the main , things that you can take as "just a bit of an issue, nothing serious" and easy to ignore.

[Conor]

My problem is that having a spinal injury in my lower back most of the symptoms get caused by that which kind of worries me because other than not being able to start to pee there is no way of knowing if I have any signs of it or not. A lot of cancer on my dad's side of the family but then again everyone smoked 20+ fags a day so how much of it was down to that?

Bluey Circles, having to go more often, weak stream , going through the night, sometimes standing at the urinal waiting for it to start.

Did these all occur at the same time or in isolation?

[Fergie47]

Del949....
I'm lucky, my doctor's father died of prostrate cancer ( he wasn't so lucky) and he has vowed that none of his patience will, so every year when I go for my migraine tablets he gives me the once over for the enlargement of the prostrate....the first time I felt it embarrassing, and uncomfortable, but that is a small price to pay.....
For the lads that don't want to go because of the "embarrassment" forget it, its a quick check, over in a minute, and a relief to know you're clear, and if you've a problem and it's caught early it can be sorted.....as I said, it's a very small price to pay......

[villa]

The trouble nowadays is it seems to me that doctors (when you eventually get an appointment) are not interested in referring you for tests and scans when you visit them with something that is bothering you. They just fob you off with stop smoking / loose weight a/ don't drink so many units of alcohol or do some exercise . I reckon the reluctance to investigate further is because of financial restraints.

[del949]

Conor, the earliest symptom was having to get up through the night sometimes for a pee, but like most I simply assumed that it was because I had drunk too much late at night or a sign of getting older. The weak flow came a bit later and coincided with more frequent visits to the loo. Bear in mind we are only talking about, in my case, a period of about 5 months total. Certainly the finger up the bum scene is nothing like as bad as you think it's going to be and maybe preceded by a simple blood test. One more important mention, if at any time you visit your GP and he asks about any changes in your lifestyle etc and you are having changes to peeing, mention it, it certainly galvanises them.

[del949]

Villa, just read your post after replying to a previous one. I honestly don't think that finance comes into it. As I understand it, at least where I live, the doctors surgery has it's own budget and the test for PSA when done with other blood tests that are routine is only about 50p. Further treatments are down to the hospital trust for your region so the doctor is not really constrained by the costs . Certainly, so far in my case there has been no shortage of scans and treatment etc and I fully expect more to come.
Luckily also, being retired I usually can get appointments easily but I do know when I was working but could be difficult to get one without losing wages/ having time off work which as we all know is a real problem for some.

[grumpyken52]

Had the finger last year !
I get regular blood tests and other stuff because of a stroke 9 years ago


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